


The Sea and the Sky

by BitterRenegade



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Awkward Crush, Co-workers, Crime Scenes, Drama & Romance, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Female Friendship, Friends to Lovers, Male-Female Friendship, Murder, Murder Mystery, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Police, Post-Peaceful Android Revolution (Detroit: Become Human), Robot/Human Relationships, Serial Killers, Undercover as a Couple
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-14 18:22:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,688
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18481810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BitterRenegade/pseuds/BitterRenegade
Summary: Years after the Android Revolution in Detroit, you were one of the few humans that made the decision to live in what had quickly become the "Capital City of Androids". Young, hopeful, and wanting to help both Androids and Humans, you had sent a letter to the Detroit Council stating your desire to learn and help, and even though you had no prior law enforcement experience, they were happy to let you apprentice at the station.After a bit of a trial period, you were now officially Connor’s partner, at least in training, which was both a blessing and a curse.A blessing because you loved working with Connor. A curse because you literally realized you had feelings for him a few hours after the arrangement had been announced.Oh, and your first big case with him just so happened to be about an android murder.





	The Sea and the Sky

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this awhile ago and recently discovered it again when diving through my Google Docs! It was my shit attempt at writing a reader-insert that was also a crime drama mystery thing when I have literally no experience with crime drama mysteries XD It feels a bit rushed, but I loved the idea so much that I had to post it! Just need to edit the next chapter and work out an ending now! Please enjoy!

_ He’s not human, he’s not human _ . You kept repeating that thought in your head, feeling heat rise to your cheeks as the android detective smiled at you. It was gentle, and kind, and he wrapped his scarf around your shoulders and  _ oh my God, you had a crush on an android. _

“Thanks, C,” you say to him shyly, pulling the fabric over your mouth. “I’ll give it back tomorrow, promise.”

“It’s no problem,” the android responds with a smile. “I wouldn’t want you to catch cold. It’s the least I can do.”

“Connor, get over here!” Captain Anderson called out to the man, no,  _ android _ in front of you, and you quickly turned on your heel and practically dashed out of the station.

Since the android revolution a few years ago, Detroit had become a mostly android city that was kind to the humans who came to live there. Unemployment had gone down as the androids were more than happy to employ regular humans but sadly most humans weren’t accepting enough to live in the city. You had requested a job at the police station as you wanted to protect both humans and androids alike, and you were studying android medical practices to be able to help any injured androids if you encountered them on the field. You were still young, only in your early twenties, but you had sent a letter to the Detroit Council (A group of Androids and Humans that ran the city, led by Markus) stating your desire to learn and help, and even though you had no prior law enforcement experience, they were happy to let you apprentice at the station.

Which was how you met Connor. The sweetest, kindest, most adorable guy (android) you’d ever met. He was just so... endearingly awkward sometimes, and every day when you saw him he would give you that smile and ask you about your day. And really, it wasn’t like you had many human relationship prospects in the city anyways. What with the unsurprising low amount of humans that lived there that were also around your age and/or interested in you in general.

Slamming your car door shut, you let out a loud groan and hid your face in your hands. It wasn’t even the android part about Connor that freaked you out about your INCREDIBLY INAPPROPRIATE crush. First of all, he was your superior at work. Secondly, he probably didn’t feel the same about you. Most of the people in the station tended to treat you like a child, what with there being about a ten year age gap from the next-youngest officer. And thirdly, androids didn’t age. You knew  _ you _ would age, there was no stopping that. 

Life was fleeting, including yours, and you didn’t know how you would feel growing old while Connor stayed his perfect self.

You let out a breath, and then decided on your next course of action.

It was time to go to a bar. 

You called up one of your few friends in town, Rana, and she agreed to meet with you at an android run bar near your apartment. Ashlyn’s, it was called. The owner used to be a Traci, and you always thought she was cool. Plus, might have some interesting insight on android/human relationships.

… although most Traci’s, according to the internet, mostly had bad things to say about the subject. Understandably.

After parking your car and placing Connor’s scarf in the wash, you changed into a more comfortable outfit before heading out to meet with Rana. Your friend was already sitting at the bar when you arrived, and you gave her a wave before sitting down next to her, hanging your coat on the hook under the counter. “Drinking on a Tuesday, Babe?” Rana teased, her green eyes shining with amusement. “Guess working with the police is harder than you thought.”

“Not really,” you shrugged, smiling at Ashlyn when she approached the two of you. “Hi Ash, how’s your day?”

“Fine,” the beautiful android smiled at you, long blonde hair tied into a braid and her dark eyes crinkling in amusement. “But I’m pretty sure Rana is more interested in _what_ made you come in here on a Tuesday. Normally the two of you don’t come here on weekdays.”

“Ashlyn’s correct,” Rana agreed, tightening her ponytail and crossing her legs. “Look, Sweetie, I’m dying to know what’s going on. But first,” she turned to look at Ash. “Babe, can we get a couple of shots over here? On my bill. Pick the one that _____ hates the most. You know the one.”

You gave your friend an unimpressed look. “I would love to know how giving me booze I don’t like would make me want to tell you anything.”

“You’ll drink anything if it’s free. I might as well make it funny to watch,” Rana smirked. She was lucky she was so charming.

A shot was placed in front of each of you, and you quickly downed it, some of the liquid spilling down your chin. You coughed, ug.  _ Bourbon _ , then wiped the liquid off of you while Rana laughed at your clumsiness. The bar was empty except for the two of you and Ashlyn, which made you feel a bit more comfortable about telling them about Connor.

“Can I get a sangria now, Ash?” You nearly begged. “Oh, and an order of nachos please.”

“Read my fucking mind,” Rana grinned. “Two more shots for me, Ash. The sweet one, you know?”

Ashlyn smirked at your friend. “Sure thing, Hun. Should take about fifteen minutes for the nachos.”

Once our next drinks were placed in front of us, Rana spun her stool to face me, one arm leaning against the bar. “Okay, now what on earth happened to make you ask me to drink on a Tuesday.”

You ran a hand through your hair, taking a long sip of your wine before answering. “I have a crush on someone at the station. I just realized it today.”

“No. Way.” Rana let out a loud laugh. “Seriously Babe? Ms. No-one-in-Detroit-is-dateable has a  _ crush _ ? On  _ who _ ? Aren’t most of the human guys at your work like, ten or more years older than you? You reverse-cougar!”

Ears burning and arms now crossed, you averted your gaze. “He’s not exactly  _ human _ .” Silence was the sound you received in response. Feeling awkward, you proceeded to chug the rest of your wine. “Hey Ash, I’d like about five shots of something you think will kill me now.”

“Sorry ____,” the bartender gave me a pitying smile. “Not legally allowed to do that. I could give you a few blue kamikaze shots though, I know you like those.”

“I love you, Ash,” you mumbled, resting your head on the counter. “...I’ll take five. And also some advice about my _stupid_ crush.”

“You could try telling them you love them and see what happens. They probably won’t give you free shots though,” Ashlyn teased, placing the shots in front of you. She was truly the coolest.

“You really don’t need to do that,” you told the bartender, who gave you the softest, most understanding look. 

“______, You two come in here every weekend. And each time, you  _ treat me like a human _ . This is the least I could do,” she explained. “Now, Rana, maybe  _ you _ could start talking?”

Rana opened and closed her mouth a few times before nodding. “Well, I guess the first thing I need to ask you is how serious this crush is.”

“I don’t know!” Throwing your hands in the air, you turned your stool to face Rana. “Look, all I know is that… it’s been a long time since I felt like this about anyone. And he’s always so sweet, and he lent me his scarf, and he’s super awkward at times and it’s so endearing. I could talk to him for hours and he makes me laugh so easily. I like him a lot…” you trailed off, then took one of the shots and downed it. All of it would likely hit you at once soon, so you were glad that you lived nearby.

Rana snatched one of your shots and downed it herself. “You sure you aren’t just thinking of him as a good friend?”

You could feel your face flush. “I saw him lick his fingers once, and I will not tell you where my mind went when I saw his tongue.” 

“Damn, girl,” Rana whistled. “Does his model have a dick too, or are you fine with just his tongue?”

Now you were certain that you wanted to die. “I don’t know! Ug, Ash!!! Rana’s embarrassing me,” you whined as the friendly android placed a plate of nachos between the two of you.

“So it’s business as usual then,”Ash winked. “Rana, tone it down a little. Poor little ______ is too pure for your bluntness.”

“Poor little ______ needs to drink more then,” your friend retorted. You rolled your eyes and finished your remaining shots before standing. “Hey, what’s this guy’s name anyways?”

“Connor,” you grumbled, making your way towards the restroom to wash your hands before eating. “Be back in a sec!”

“Take your time!” She called back. Once your hands were clean, you returned and prepared to eat some delicious nachos. You swore that Ashlyn made the best nachos in town. Licking your lips, you gave Rana a glare when she snickered. 

“What?” 

“Oh, just thinking about your tongue,” she shrugged innocently. The jerk. 

After a half hour of chatting between the three of you, eating, and a few more drinks, you pulled your coat back on and paid your share of the tab. Of course you made sure to tip extra well, because Ash was super kind to give you a few free shots. Rana decided to stick around the bar a little bit longer, but you knew you should get home and get some rest before your shift the next day. And talking to your friends helped make you feel at least a bit better about the whole thing.

The next morning, though, you kind of hated the ‘drinking on a Tuesday night’ idea. When you woke up your throat was dry, and you had the slightest headache. It wasn’t that bad of course, you didn’t feel sick or anything. Just a bit groggy and uncomfortable. You threw Connor’s scarf in the dryer before hopping into the shower, and once you were changed and ready for the day, placed the scarf in your bag and headed out. Thankfully it hadn’t snowed overnight, so the roads were easy to navigate. And you remembered to wear your own scarf and gloves that day, since you knew it’d be another day on the field with Connor. Captain Anderson had told you the day before that you were now officially Connor’s partner, at least in training, which was both a blessing and a curse.

A blessing because you loved working with Connor. A curse because you literally realized you had feelings for him a few hours after the arrangement.

“Good morning ______,” Connor greeted you with a smile as you entered the office, leaning against your desk. He was wearing a dark gray winter jacket over his usual dress shirt and tie, with black slacks. Like always, he was dressed like a professional who could also be a model. “We have quite an interesting case today, if I do say so myself. We received a call a few minutes ago regarding an android death. It was reported by their girlfriend. Shall we head out?”

“Yeah,” you nodded, reaching into your purse and holding out his scarf. “I washed it, hope you don’t mind.” 

He shook his head, fingers brushing against mine as he took it from me gingerly. “That was very kind of you.” Connor’s words made you smile, and he wrapped the scarf around his neck. “I’ll drive, I know you feel uncomfortable behind the wheel during winter.”

Following him out into the parking lot, you screamed internally at how thoughtful he was. The two of you took his car, which you definitely knew was older than you, but you didn’t have enough car knowledge to name the make and model unless you were told it maybe ten more times. 

“It’s cold today,” you noted, more to yourself than to him. Plus it was dreary… maybe because there had been a murder. Well, maybe a murder. Android deaths were pretty uncommon, especially since most of the humans that lived in the city were pro-android, but it was still possible that foul play  _ wasn’t _ involved.

“Don’t worry, the weather is supposed to warm up by a few degrees in the next hour,” Connor assured, opening the passenger door for you before jogging to the other side to seat himself. After putting on your seatbelt, you hugged yourself and leaned against the door, closing your eyes and relishing in the way that your headache quieted. You always felt more sleepy the day after drinking. “Are you alright, ______?” Connor inquired with a twinge of worry in his voice. “My scan shows slight dehydration as well as fatigue.”

“I’m fine, C.” It was a lie. “Don’t worry, I have a water bottle in my bag. I just met up with a friend last night for a few drinks and had a tad too much alcohol and not enough H2o.”

“Feel free to sleep for now, if you can,” My mentor offered. “We won’t arrive at our destination for a half hour. Long enough for you to get a power nap.”

A smile danced onto your lips and you nodded. “Thanks C,” you said through a yawn, snuggling into your coat and putting more of your weight against the door. “I will always accept the chance for more z’s.”

With that, you dozed lightly. It was always hard to nap in moving cars, so it felt more like a half-sleep that would go back and forth between almost sleeping and getting jolted awake by a turn or a bump in the road. At one point Connor shook your shoulder lightly, and you looked at him with bleary eyes. You realized that the car was parked just outside of a coffee shop. “We’re not at the crime scene yet, ________. I was going to run in and grab you a cup of coffee, but realized I haven’t seen you drink any in the office. Could you tell me how you take it?”

Grateful for his kindness, and feeling a couple of butterflies in your stomach at just how thoughtful he was being, you told him how you normally liked your coffee. He gave you a grin and a nod before exiting the car and jogging into the coffee shop. It didn’t take long for him to return, and he handed the hot beverage to you carefully. Warmth quickly spread across your hands, the scent of coffee wafting into your nose.

“You’re my hero today.”

“No, just a concerned friend. And be careful, it’s hot.”

Connor turned the key in the ignition and looked around before pulling out of the parking spot and back onto the street. The two of you drove in comfortable silence, and you could feel yourself slowly feeling more awake. And then Connor spoke again.

“By the way, the detergent you use smells… nice,” he told me awkwardly. “I detect hints of flowers and… something sweet. It suits you.” You burnt your tongue on your next sip, placing it into the cup holder while you dug into your bag to grab your water bottle. If you weren’t fully awake before, you were now. Internally you scolded yourself, all he had done was compliment your  _ laundry detergent _ . Why the hell were you reacting so strongly? “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shock you. Are you alright? Hank told me that I should practice making more pleasant conversation instead of always prying for personal information,” he explained awkwardly, brows furrowed in an adorable way as he looked over at you briefly.

“Don’t worry about it,” you forced out after cooling your tongue on some water. “Just didn’t expect it. I didn’t know androids had a sense of smell.”

“Well, of course we do. It’s very useful in dangerous situations, like determining who in the office had a bit too much to drink last night.” his voice took on a bit of a teasing tone. “I also didn’t expect you to like bourbon. You have trace amounts of it on your coat.”

“I don’t like bourbon,” your face screwed up in disgust. “My friend bought me a shot of it, I must have accidentally got some on my jacket.”

Connor glanced at you, puzzled. “Why would your friend buy you a drink that you dislike?”

‘Because she’s a bitch and I love her’ would most likely just confuse Connor more, so instead you smiled. “It’s an inside joke.”

“By the way, you should probably drink a bit more water,” the android advised. “While the coffee will help with your energy, it will negatively affect your hydration.”

“I’ll be  _ fine _ , Detective.” You waved him off, taking another long sip of your water before choking on it and coughing painfully. Connor had an amused look on his face while you internally prayed for the two of you to reach the crime scene before you made an even bigger fool of yourself. Thankfully, you arrived not even three minutes later. Stepping out of the car, you followed after Connor with your coffee in hand. There were a few cops outside the house, and on the front porch Officer Chris was speaking to who you assumed was the girlfriend.

“Good morning Officer Chris,” Connor greeted. Chris smiled back at him and nodded, the two of them moving away from the porch to talk. Instead of following after them, you stepped onto the porch and inspected the woman. She was still crying, a pile of tissues next to her. If you had to take a guess, you’d say she was in her late thirties or early forties so… probably not an android. 

“Hello,” you greeted gently, and she looked towards you with tear stained cheeks and bloodshot eyes. “I’m truly sorry to bother you, Ma’am, but I wanted to offer my condolences.”

A ghost of a smile appeared on the woman’s face, and she nodded, sniffling. “Thank you. Oh, my name is Diane by the way.”

“I’m _______.”

“You look young, are you with the police?” 

“Yes. I’m only in training though.”

“It’s an admirable job,” she praised. “Nate always talks…” her lip quivered. “...talked about the good they do around the city. Crime has gone down so much these last few years since the androids were freed, I don’t understand why this happened.”

You frowned. “Nate… he’s an android, right?” 

“Oh God,” Diane hung her head in her hands. “Please don’t let it be another pro-human asshole. Nate never did anything wrong! He didn’t deserve to be shut down!”

You felt incredibly bad for the woman, and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder just as Connor approached.

“Hello Diane, my name is Connor. If you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few more questions.”

“Right, right,” the woman let out a shaky breath. “Of course, Detective. Please, ask me whatever you need.” Connor nodded. You smiled kindly at Diane before taking a step back. 

“How long did you and Nate know each other?”

Diane bit her lip, pain in her eyes. “He was my android since before the Android Freedom Movement. Well, me and my ex-husband’s. Nate actually… he became deviant saving me from that man.” The more of Diane’s story you knew, the more you felt bad for her. 

Connor placed his hands behind his back. “Is it possible that your ex murdered Nate?”

She shook her head, no. “He’s currently in prison. There’s no way he could have done this. Plus, we live in a completely different place. Didn’t even tell him where we went.”

“Do you know if anyone disliked Nate?” 

“No, I’m sorry. Nate mentioned he was having a few problems at his workplace but he didn’t tell me who…”

“Thank you Diane, that will be all,” Connor told her curtly, giving me a glance and gesturing towards the front door with his head. “Let’s check out the crime scene.”

With a final look at Diane, you followed after Connor. “Connor? What do you think so far?” 

“Nothing solid yet. I’ll need to see the body to get a clearer picture.” 

You nodded, then let out a gasp the moment you saw the body, hands shooting up and covering your mouth. His eyes were gouged out, stab marks covering his body with multiple knives stabbing through him. One through each hand and each leg, pinning him to the ground. A final knife right through where Nate’s heart would be. The metallic, chemical smell of blue blood cut through the air around you, making you feel awful. Never before had you seen anything so… brutal. Connor knelt down beside the body, bringing a small sample of blue blood up to his lips, his tongue darting out and making you look away. The surrounding scene was simply too horrific for you to find the action appealing. Then, that’s when you noticed it. Laying a few feet away from the body, you saw a small, black box. “Connor?” You spoke up, stepping towards it and pulling an evidence glove over your hand. The android let out a ‘hm?’ looking over just as you opened it. Inside was a ring. “Oh my god.” A folded note was inside as well, which you opened. It had been typed out, likely to make it hard to discern who made it. “This is what you get for tricking an android into falling in love with you,” you read aloud, your horrified eyes meeting Connor’s somber ones. “Just because they loved each other… oh my god.” Your eyes welled up with tears and you bit your lip, your heart breaking for Diane and Nate. You placed the note in the evidence bag but held the ring box out to Connor. “Could you scan this for me, C? If it’s clean… I’d like to bring it out for Diane once we’re done here. I mean, if it’s okay.”

“Of course,” he agreed softly, eyes inspecting the box. “It’s clean, and _____?” Your eyes met once more, and he took your hand. “I understand if you need to take some time outside. I didn’t expect it to be… like this. Bad, yes, murders are always bad. But not… like this. At least not for your first homicide.” 

Warmth blossomed in your chest at his concern. “Thanks, Connor. But I’ll be okay. I need to get used to this sort of thing, right? Can you tell me your theory on the crime now, please?”

He smiled down at you reassuringly, and you reluctantly pulled your hand away. “Are you sure you’re okay?” You nodded and he stepped away, heading towards the body and urging you to follow. It always amazed you when you listened to him theorize the crime with what you had been told was near perfect accuracy. “Now, the note you found may very well be the motive. If you look at the body, you can see that this was a crime with purpose. Torture.”

“Well, yeah. Assuming that they didn’t hit the heart first, none of the cuts would have killed him,” you noted, jotting down a few notes on your phone. “He would have known the entire time that his death was the end goal.”

Connor nodded and led you around the body. “But look at him. And with the note you found, it’s clear who the real target was.”

That’s when it clicked in your head. Diane. “Nothing’s worse than continuing to live when the one you love is dead. And I assume that most humans that enter relationships with androids expect the android to outlive them.”

“Very good insights,” Connor spoke approvingly. “So if we’re looking at this as though the victim was targeted due to their relationship with a human, who would you think was the murderer?”

“An android, most likely,” you decided. “You said that there weren’t any prints on the box, so I assume that the knives are clean too. Typing the message was probably to throw investigators off, since if it was handwritten by an android we all know the font. Typing it instead makes far more sense.” You looked around the room, not seeing anything broken or out of place. “Hey, C… is it alright if I look around the house more? I don’t see any signs of a struggle in here. Which is… odd. I doubt that a single android would have been able to restrain Nate long enough to pin him down like that.”

Connor peered into the next room, pushing past me gently. “I was curious about that too. But we should stick together. It’ll be good practice for other situations.”

“Other situations?” You raised an eyebrow and he turned a bit sheepish.

“When I first started working with Hank, I may have gotten in trouble when I went off alone.”

You got the feeling that Captain Anderson would have something else to say about that. “ _ May _ have?”

A chuckle erupted from him, and you wanted to memorize the sound. “Alright, I got in trouble. It was a dangerous case, so I was damaged a few times. Regardless, I don’t wish to let you put yourself at risk.” Connor froze, then let out a sigh. “There are already so few humans on our side. I would hate to see you hurt if it could have been prevented.” He then touched your arm gently. “Come on, let’s look around and see if we missed anything.”

There was nothing else out of place at the crime scene, so the two of you ended up leaving after you gave Diane the ring that was meant for her.

She wouldn’t stop sobbing afterwards.

Inside the car, you practically curled into yourself as Connor drove, him glancing over at you every now and then, concerned. “I… feel awful,” you finally blurted out, the entire thing hitting you at once. “It’s so heartbreaking, the whole thing,” you began to ramble. “I’m sorry, I know that I shouldn’t let myself be affected like this…” your eyes welled up with tears, and you furiously wiped at them. Diane had looked so shattered when you handed her the ring. “She really loved him. I wish we could bring him back.”

“Me too,” Connor’s voice was soothing. “You know, _____. You don’t need to become a police officer or a detective to help us.” Your eyes widened, and you looked at him with shock. “If at the end of this case, you decide you want to help in some other way… you’re very clever, I’m sure there’s something else you can do at the station. What I do… it can get very dangerous sometimes.”

“I know,” your voice was soft. Sad. Small. “But I want to help this way.”

A heavy silence followed, broken by Connor’s heavy sigh. “Then I’ll support you. You’re my partner.”

The next stop for the investigation was to speak to the employees at the victim’s workplace: the office of a company that primarily focused on updating and changing Android appearances. It was agreed between the two of you that you’d take the lead on some of the interrogations, with Connor stepping in when he deemed appropriate. The manager was very helpful, giving you a fair amount of information as well as some more detail on who Nate was having trouble with at the office. He was generally very well liked, but apparently he’d had some trouble with a human coworker when it was discovered Nate was dating Diane. 

“Could we have access to his terminal?” You requested, the dark-haired man across from you smiling and nodding. He led you and Connor to it before heading back to his own desk. Your partner (when he said you were his partner, you couldn’t help but feel happy) raised an eyebrow in question, waiting for you to explain what you were thinking. “I doubt that only one person was giving him trouble. Maybe we can check his emails and see if anyone was giving him trouble online…” you frowned, wringing your hands together. “And maybe we can ask Diane if we could check his personal messages as well.”

Connor nodded approvingly. “That’s a fine idea. May I?” He gestured towards the console, and you moved out of his way. “This will just take a moment.” A hand was placed on the console, the skin fading away and revealing Connor’s clinical white ‘bones’. The monitor flared to life, windows opening and closing so quickly it made you dizzy. Then it shut down, and Connor blinked his eyes, shaking his head. “There’s nothing of relevance. All of his emails are related to his work.”

“Makes sense, I guess…” you crossed your arms, a nagging feeling at the back of your head. “Let's speak to that guy that was giving Nate, no, the victim,” you corrected yourself. Maybe distancing yourself a bit would help. “He might know if other people felt the same as him.” Connor nodded and followed after you. The one you were going to speak to was an older human male named William Bowers. He had short salt and pepper hair and stubble on his face, beginning to look a bit anxious when you and Connor approached. “Good afternoon Mr. Bowers,” you smiled at the man, holding out your badge for him to see before putting it away. “Could you answer a few questions for us?”

“This is about Nate, right?” William snapped. You glanced at Connor for a moment before looking back at the other man and nodding. “Well I can tell you now that I didn’t do it. Yes, me and Nate have had a few problems this last little while but he was good people. You don’t live in Detroit if you hate androids but you raise your voice at one once and everyone gives you the stink eye.”

“Mr. Bowers, my name is Connor,” your partner introduced himself and offered his hand, which was taken and shook politely. “We aren’t accusing you of anything yet. We just want to know more about the situation between the two of you. See if you knew of anyone else that had a problem with Nate.” Connor retracted his hand, and sat in the chair on the other side of the suspect’s desk. “My partner, detective _______, thought that if anyone knew about it, it would be you.”

You held out your hand and smiled awkwardly. “Any information you provide would be appreciated, Sir.”

William relaxed slightly, shaking your hand firmly before leaning back in his chair comfortably. You stood, not wanting to look small in a chair, and held your arms behind your back. “Do you know if anyone else was giving the victim trouble? I found it surprising when we were told that only you were giving Nate a hard time.”

“Yeah, well, I wasn’t the only one. And I wasn’t giving him trouble. I told him how I felt about his relationship with Diane, things got a bit heated, but we got over it.”

You tilted your head to the side. “Can I ask about your thoughts?”

“I thought he was a fucking idiot for wanting to marry the human who bought him,” William scoffed, crossing his arms. “But like I told you, we got over it. Talked it over a couple weeks later and then we were fine. Back to our usual amicable selves.”

Connor cut in. “Mr. Bowers, you said before that you weren’t the only one giving him trouble. Do you have their names?”

Letting out a heavy sigh, William shook his head. “No… no. Nate mentioned to me that he had been getting a few threatening messages after our argument. Asked me the same thing, since he wanted to talk things over with them or something. And now he’s dead. Guess talking things over didn’t make things better.” 

“Would you mind if I checked your emails to confirm that you weren’t the one sending the messages to Nate?” Connor inquired. William opened his arms as if to say ‘Go right ahead’, so Connor reached out and touched the monitor, removing his hand after a moment and standing. “Thank you for your time, Mr. Bowers.” 

You thanked William yourself before following Connor out. He was walking briskly towards the exit, not even checking to see if you were following. When the two of you were in the parking lot, you jogged forward and grabbed his arm. “Connor, hold up a second!” He slowed, then smiled apologetically.

“Sorry about that, _____. Let’s talk in the car.” As always, he held the door open for you, closing it once you were safely inside. Once both of you had your seatbelts clicked in, he turned the key and began driving out. “I believe that someone tampered with the victim’s work computer. There was an email on Mr. Bower’s, forwarded from Nate’s work account. Someone else was using an email address that I’m unable to trace to threaten him. We need to check his personal account. Maybe there’ll be something there.”

You checked the time on the car’s clock. 2PM. When you arrived back at the crime scene, they were just finishing cleaning up the body. Officer Chris was still there, and flagged the two of you over. “Miss. Laur left a while ago. She’s going to be staying with her brother for the next little while.”

“Thank you, Chris,” Connor nodded. “We’ll just be inside for a few minutes.

“I’ll be heading back to the station,” The dark-skinned officer informed. “I’ll see the two of you later.”

“Bye Chris,” you smiled, and he nodded back to you before leaving. Connor held the front door open for you, and you followed after him. Thankfully there was only one computer in the house, so the two of you were in and out just as quickly as you told Chris. Then the two of you began the drive back to the office. You felt hungry, but didn’t want to bother Connor about it. You’d just grab some of your food stash from the station once you arrived. “What’s the plan now, C?”

“Once we’re back at the station I’ll transfer all the relevant information to your computer so you can look over it,” he told you. “I’d also like to look over any evidence we have together. Hank will want to speak with us about this case as well.”

It was a little past 3PM when the two of you arrived back at the station. You eyed the convenience store, but followed after Connor instead when he held the door open for you. “Welcome back,” the friendly, pretty Asian android at the front greeted. Her name was Sarah if you remembered correctly. She had a few freckles on her cheeks, and her silver hair was tied back into a long ponytail. 

“Good afternoon, Sarah,” Connor smiled at her, approaching the counter and leaning against it. You were relieved that you got her name right. “Is Hank in the office right now?”

Sarah shook her head, no, but rested her arms on the counter and leaned a bit closer to your partner. “He just stepped out. Should be back in an hour.”

“Well, hopefully he will,” Connor said, amusement clear in his voice. He pushed away from the counter and nodded his head towards the security gate. “Shall we, ______?”

“Oh! _____!” Sarah blurted out, holding her hands together. “Congratulations! I think you’re going to make a great detective, and Connor’s a great person to work with,” she grinned at you, and you couldn’t help but grin back at her.

“Thanks! And yeah, Connor’s great. I’ve only been his partner for a day, but I already feel like I’m learning a lot!”

“You were working with me for a few months before today,” Connor reminded. 

You shook your head and corrected him. “I was working with  _ Captain Anderson _ for the last few months. You just so happened to be around as well.” The two of you went through the security gate and towards your desks. Chris gave the two of you a wave, and Connor went straight to your computer to upload all the information he’d gathered. The two of you worked together for a few hours, Connor speaking to Captain Anderson without you when the older man arrived. You had been so distracted that you forgot all about food until Chris said he was going home to have dinner with his kids. Your stomach was complaining quietly, wanting to be fed, so you made a few arm gestures towards the kitchen, causing your partner to raise an eyebrow from the desk across from you. “The human requires food,” you explained. 

Realization dawned on Connor, his eyes widening as he checked his wrist for the time. It was well past 5PM now. “I didn’t realize it had gotten so late. He walked towards you briskly and offered his hand. “Come on, I was planning on treating you to lunch today, but got too absorbed in the case. Apologies, shall we go now?” The shock on your face must have been evident, because Connor let out a loud laugh, big grin on his face. “What’s with that look, Detective?”

“B-but why?!” You questioned, confused and a bit flustered. This would be the first time the two of you went out alone for a non-work thing. “You don’t even eat… and you really don’t have to! What’s there to celebrate?”

Connor’s lips turned downwards and his brow furrowed. “But you’re a detective now.”

“A detective in-training,” you corrected. “It’s not really much of a step up from assisting you and Captain Anderson. The only difference is that it’s just you I’m helping now.”

“Is it not an upgrade?”

“It is!” You said quickly. “I mean, kind of? You already know I like working with you, but I also liked working with Captain Anderson,” you rambled, embarrassment reddening your face. “I wouldn’t use the word  _ upgrade _ , exactly. I mean I’m happy to be working with you, but I was  _ always _ happy working with you, I hope what I said before wasn’t an insult or anything. I just meant that—“

“_____,” Connor chuckled, placing a hand on your shoulder which made you stop talking instantly. “Let’s go get some dinner.”

“Okay,” you squealed, wanting to hide inside your coat. Connor patted your back, leading you back out of the station and towards his car. Not even ten minutes later were you seated across from him in the booth of a nearby pub. This one was busy, nothing like Ashlyn’s. Apparently it was one of Captain Anderson’s favorites. Connor was playing with a coin across from you, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his blazer on the bench next to him. The menu sat in front of you, and you awkwardly looked through it, hungry but unsure of what to pick. On one hand, normal dinner options were always good. But the pub had a BROWNIE DESSERT.

And you weren’t sure if you could eat both a meal and a dessert. Normally you would split food with Rana when the two of you went out, and you tended to get full quickly. But also, only getting a dessert seemed very childish. 

“Have you decided?” Connor’s fingers wrapped around his coin and he pocketed it.

“Yep,” you lied, closing your menu. You could just get an appetizer. Chicken wings, probably. Then hopefully you could eat dessert. Connor flagged down a waitress, smiling at the woman and nodding in your direction. 

“Hello my name is Erin,” she introduced. “Have you decided what to eat?”

“Chicken wings, please.”

Connor gave you a look, then ordered himself. “I’ll have a Blue and Tonic. She’ll have a strawberry daiquiri.” The waitress smiled and nodded, not even checking you for ID before heading towards the bar. You were, instead, staring at Connor with your mouth slightly ajar. “Androids can drink very specific liquids,” he explained, amused by your reaction. “Tonic water and regular water are basically just used for cleaning purposes, but we can also ingest blue blood, which can help repair us or give us more energy. It also allows you to not need to drink alone.”

“... isn’t it a bit unprofessional for me to be drinking with my superior?”

“We’re not on the clock right now, or in the station. I thought it would be good to get to know you in a more casual setting,” Connor placed his hands down on the table. “And it’s not unprofessional. I once bought Hank a shot before taking him to a crime scene.”

You couldn’t help but laugh. “That sounds  _ very _ unprofessional, C.”

“Is it?” His lips turned upwards into a playful smile. 

“It is.”

“Regardless, I feel like getting to know more about each other will help us in the long run. Tell me about yourself, _______,” Connor requested, your drinks arriving and being placed in front of each of you. “When you’re not at the station, what do you like to do for fun?”

“Did you do this to Captain Anderson when the two of you first started working together?” You countered. Your partner’s smile widened into a grin. You took a quick sip of your drink and let out a defeated sigh. “I like reading. And watching TV. What about you, C?”

“Reading tends to go by too quickly for me to be able to truly enjoy it,” Connor answered. “But I do enjoy music.”

“What do you like to listen to?”

“I like it better when it’s loud.” You stared at him blankly, and he laughed. “Heavy metal. Hank introduced it to me.”

“You always struck me as more of a jazz person,” you commented, but smiled. “You and Captain Anderson are pretty close. It’s really nice to see.”

“He’s a good friend,” Connor spoke fondly. “Do you like dogs?”

You shrugged your shoulders. “I’m more of a cat person myself, but I tend to adore anything soft and fluffy.”

“I think you’d like Hank’s dog. He’s big, and very fluffy. Friendly too,” Connor took a sip of his drink, and you stared. He watched you as he put his glass down. “Yes?”

“Just… never saw you drink anything before,” you replied softly. Soon enough, your wings were placed in front of you, and you quickly devoured them, thankful that the food gave you a good reason not to talk. A shot of something was placed in front of you a few minutes later, and you looked up at your waitress with confusion, and she smiled.

“A friend of yours thought you might need some liquid courage for your date,” she explained, gesturing towards the bar.

Where Rana was sitting.

Before you could deny that your dinner with Connor was a date, the waitress had walked off. Your partner analyzed the shot glass, eyes widening slightly. “Your friend who likes to give you bourbon even though you don’t like it?”

“That’s the one.”

He looked over to the bar, and Rana smirked and waved. “She seems nice. No criminal record. Pretty, too.”

You bit your lip at his comment, taking the shot quickly. “She’s nice, yeah. And  _ beautiful _ , really,” you said absently, beginning to take another sip.

“Is she more than a friend?”

You choked on your drink. “Nope, just a friend,” you said, nose and throat burning. “Hey, C, can we head back to the station now? I’m getting pretty tired.”

Connor looked a bit confused, but nodded, looking over at a nearby console and blinking, the LED on his right temple flickering as he paid. He gave a friendly wave to your friend, and then followed you out of the pub. The car ride back was pretty silent, and you leaned your head against the window. “____?” You made a noise to confirm you heard him. “I… apologize if I make you feel uncomfortable. I understand that working with just me is different from before, and that it’ll take some getting used to.”

You shot up and stared at him with wide eyes. “What? Connor, it isn’t like that,” you assured. “I’m just… an awkward mess, and yeah, it’s different working with just you but that’s not a bad thing. You know that I think you’re amazing, right? I’m just…”  _ trying to deal with being professional, young, and also crushing on you _ . “Really, thank you for taking me out tonight. And I do want to get to know you better, especially since we’re partners now.” Connor inspected you and smiled. 

“Apologies. You’ve been good to me for months, I should have known better than to think that there was a problem now,” Connor parked his car, and handed you an earpiece. “I’m looking forward to working with you from now on. And I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You held the earpiece up and raised an eyebrow. “What’s this for?”

He gestured towards his ear, and you put it into yours.  _ It’s so you can hear me.  _ His voice rang in your ear, and you almost jumped out of the car seat. “Androids are able to communicate silently. It’s useful during interrogations, or in emergency situations.”

“So cool!” You exclaimed, then quickly toned yourself down. “But… I’m not an android. So it only works one way, right?” Connor nodded, and you sulked slightly. It wasn’t fair. You wished you could use telepathy. You wished you weren’t human, maybe if you were an android too—

“Are you alright?”

You shook your head, and smiled at Connor thankfully. “I’ll see you tomorrow, C.”

“Drive safe.”

When you got home, you slumped against the wall.

Why did you have to be human?

The next few days were filled with going over evidence, interrogating the other co-workers that we discovered had been giving the victim trouble, but nothing came out of it. A few weeks passed, and you were stumped. But during that time, you and Connor became closer friends. And sure, your crush was still there, still fond, but you were perfectly happy with the way things were. You started being more relaxed around him, and the two of you were great at solving other, smaller cases that came up. All in all you were a great team.

But the android murder case was difficult for you both.

“There’s something we’re missing here,” you groaned, laying your head down on your desk. It was nearly time to head home, and Connor was staring intently at his console. “Connor? I need a brain break.”

Your partner looked over at you and smiled kindly. He always smiled at you so kindly. “Why don’t you head home? I’ll call you if I find any new developments.”

Uncertain, you rubbed your arm. “But…”

Captain Anderson stepped out of his office and gave the two of you a look. “Hey, _______. Connor. Let’s go.”

“But Hank—“ “Captain—“

The older man raised his hands. “We’re taking ____ to the shooting range.”

You and Connor looked at each other, your expression brightening considerably at the thought of getting to practice with the Captain and Connor again. “Are you going to stay here?” You asked, wanting him to come along but not wanting to seem too eager. 

Connor averted his gaze, then gave you an awkward smile. “I never miss a shot, remember?”

“And it always makes me try harder,” you replied proudly. Hank let out a chuckle, turning on his heel and heading towards the exit.

“Don’t make me wait too long,” Captain Anderson ordered. 

“Come on C, Captain Anderson always tells the best stories when you’re there!” You begged now that the Captain was gone. “Please?”

“You always act more responsible when it isn’t just the two of us,” Connor noted, then sighed. “Alright. Let’s go to the shooting range.”

**_Bang bang bang._ **

“And then Connor sampled her blood, and it was the first time I’d seen him do it. In a fucking  _ sex _ club,” Captain Anderson shook his head, and you couldn’t help but laugh. “It was  _ disgusting _ . I didn’t know what the hell he was doing.”

You missed your next shot, hands shaking from laughter. “Connor, why didn’t you tell him what you were doing?"

“I was focused on the case,” Connor responded defensively, embarrassed. 

“Then he asked me to rent a fucking Traci. And I thought, ‘what the hell is wrong with this android,’” the gray-haired man let out a loud laugh. “It was for the case, to be clear. But that was an awkward thing to claim on my expense account. And also the most expensive case I’ve worked on to this day.”

Connor’s voice sighed into your ear.  _ I hope you’re enjoying yourself, at least. _

“I am!” You replied, sending your partner a bright smile. The captain raised an eyebrow, and Connor patted his oldest friend on the back.

“Hank, maybe you could tell her a different story?” The android requested sheepishly. 

Hank scoffed, shoving Connor lightly. “What? Don’t want the kid to think badly about you? It was a good case, Connor.”

“She’s not a kid,” Connor responded with a glare. You put down your pistol and watched the two of them, tilting your head to the side. Hank looked between the two of you, then raised an eyebrow.

Checking the time on your watch, you winced. “Oh crap. Sorry Captain, sorry Connor! I need to meet up with a friend.”

“Tell Rana I say hello,” Your partner waved, and you holster your gun. As you left, you heard the Captain let out a heavy sigh, but you had to hurry. It was pub night, and Ashlyn’s was calling for you. Figuratively, not literally. You had a good time, a pleasant buzz in your system when you fell into your bed a couple of hours later.

_ Knock knock knock. _

You blinked your eyes open, vision bleary, and you almost wanted to yell at whoever was knocking to leave you alone.  _ “______, are you home?”  _ Oh. Connor. 

“Give me a minute!” You called out, stumbling towards the door. Opening it, you squinted at your partner, who was still dressed in the same clothes from when you were working together before you went to the pub. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?” Your words were slightly slurred, and Connor helped steady you when you fell forwards, exhausted.

“Sorry about this, ______,” Connor lifted you into his arms, and carried you towards the bathroom. “I need you awake and sober.”

“Mmm awake,” you whined, hands reaching up and gripping at his shirt. He froze up. “Just five more minutes….”

“...I’m really sorry,” he sighed, placing you down. You were laying in something cool. And then you were hit with a blast of cold water.

“HOLY GAH!!” You yelped, eyes shooting open as you flailed in the tub, Connor placing his hand behind your head to keep you from slamming it into the surface. “Wha?!  _ Connor _ ! Turn it off, I’m awake! I’m awake!” You breathed heavily, , the fabric of your clothes sticking to you, and you brushed your wet hair back. 

Connor let out a cough, turning away from me and grabbing a nearby towel. “We have a case.”

You dried your face, and then realized why Connor refused to look in your direction. Of course you had gone to sleep in a white shirt, and at least he had the decency to look away. “Out. Now.”

“I’ll be in the living room.”

“I’ll be here, dying of embarrassment. Be out in ten minutes,” you locked the bathroom door behind him, and promptly hit your head against the door. “I hate everything.” Just when you thought you could act somewhat normal around Connor, he saw your boobs through a wet T-shirt. You threw your soaked clothes into the laundry hamper. Turning the shower back on and quickly shampooing your hair with the hopes that shampoo scent would keep you from smelling like the alcohol you had drank previously, before hopping out and towel drying it and wrapping another towel around yourself. You cracked the door open. “Connor?”

“Yes?”

“Close your eyes and promise you won’t open them until I’m safely in my room to change.”

Connor let out a loud laugh. “I promise.”

Opening the door fully, you walked through the living room briskly and opened the door to your bedroom. Once you were inside, you quickly locked it and headed towards your closet, throwing on some underwear, socks, dark jeans, a plain black T-shirt and a hoodie to wear underneath your winter jacket. Of course you were still tired, and a quick glance at your phone told you that you had only gotten a couple hours of sleep. Letting out a loud yawn, you entered your living room. “Connor, first of all: what the fuck. I’m not on call tonight.”

“And I apologize, but I knew you would be upset if I went without you,” Connor explained, holding his hands up in a ‘I surrender’ way. “Shall we go?”

You facepalmed. “That doesn’t help even if you’re right!”

“I’ll… buy you some coffee on the way?”

“ _ And _ I’m sleeping in the backseat of your car.”

With newfound purpose, you grabbed a spare pillow and a blanket to sleep with. Connor locked your door behind you, and then within a few minutes you were happily snoozing in the back of his car while he drove to the nearest Starbucks. One coffee later you were only  _ barely _ awake enough to work. 

Captain Anderson was at the site when you arrived, speaking with first responders. Your partner approached the older man briskly, leading you over with his hand on your back. “Hank, what can you tell us?”

“The victim’s another android. Model number 307-218, went by the name Olivia. Her next of kin… boyfriend is out of town,” Hank informed. “His name is William Turner, and he’ll be returning to Detroit tomorrow morning for questioning.”

You were still tired and beginning to feel a bit dehydrated, but still pulled out your cell phone to take down some notes for yourself. “Who found her?”

“Boyfriend called us to check on her when he didn’t hear back from her for a couple of days. Officer Diaz was the first on the scene,” the Captain led the two of you into the murder site, the smell of blue blood hitting you quickly. Anderson pointed out the similarities of the new victim. “Eyes stabbed out, torture is obvious. Knives pinning her down the exact same way as the last victim. Same MO as well. We found a ring on her finger. Boyfriend said he proposed a week before he left on his business trip. We’ll get more information when he arrives.”

“... so we have a killer targeting androids in android-human relationships,” your lips tightened. “Was there a note this time?”

Captain Anderson nodded and handed you an evidence bag. You held it up for Connor to see as well.  _ She shouldn’t have said yes. _

Connor took the note from you and passed it back to the captain. “We’re going to access her computer and see if there’s any more evidence.”

“Meet me back at the station when you’re done,” Hank ordered. He seemed to regret his tone and patted Connor’s shoulder. “You’ll catch them.” With a final nod to me the Captain left the two of you to your investigation. Connor didn’t pay you any mind as he continued to inspect the crime scene, his android mind no doubt logging everything far better than your hungover one would. You let out a small yawn and tried to keep your eyes open, and once your partner had done all he could he stood in front of you with warm brown eyes.

“Come on, I’ll drive you back to your apartment.”

You shook your head defiantly. “But the case—“

“Can wait until you’re at your best,” the deviant detective cut you off easily, his tone gentle. “Let’s go.”

The next day when you entered the station Connor was waiting for you by the entrance, hands folded politely in front of him as he stood with perfectly awkward-to-see posture. Before he left your apartment the previous night he had advised you to drink water and you had listened. So, thankfully, you weren’t hurting  _ too _ bad hangover wise. When the android spotted you it was like his face lit up and he waved at you kindly. “Detective ________, how are you feeling this morning?”

You smiled back at him, albeit tiredly, and shrugged. “Getting a shock of cold water in the middle of the night before seeing a crime scene didn’t make the rest of my sleep very restful.”

Sheepishly Connor rubbed the back of his head and averted his gaze, then leaned forward and spoke softly. “Hank wants to speak with us, shall we?” Nodding in agreement, you followed just slightly behind Connor to Captain Anderson’s office and thanked your partner when he held the door open for you. The Captain looked  _ exhausted _ , like he’d been up all night while You’d been sleeping. Anxiously you held your hands together and took an uncomfortable seat in front of your superior. “Good morning Captain Anderson.”

The older man let out a sigh and leaned back in his seat. “There’s been a break in the case.” Instantly the information made you sit up straighter, eager to learn more. “The victims were both part of an online group regarding android-human relationships,” Hank began, then proceeded to explain more, allowing you to take notes while Connor attempted to look like he wasn’t anxiously waiting for his closest friend to get to the point. “Connor is going undercover. We were hoping that you would continue to be his partner for this assignment.”

You tilted your head to the side. “Undercover as what?”

“As his fiancee.”


End file.
